Yes, 'Jurassic World Rebirth' Is The Series' Second-Best.
A rare film review from this newsletter.
Forget the 51% on Rotten Tomatoes: Jurassic World Rebirth is more than just better than the most recent entries in the franchise. It is No. 2 in a series that now officially leaves behind a trail of absolute stinkers, otherwise known as the “Pratt Era.” If you thought the last three films in the Jurassic Park franchise lacked wonder, charisma, and any real suspense, you’ll find it here. (Bonus: No more locusts!)
Perhaps it’s because we’re back in capable hands behind the camera—director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One, Godzilla) and writer David Koepp (the original Jurassic Park, among many, many other Important Films)—and actors with a real presence, even when the dialogue and exposition is at its weakest in the film’s beginning moments. Here, Scarlett Johansson is the series’ most capable and compelling lead since Neill, Dern, and Goldblum originally occupied the screen.
The great mistake of the most recent trilogy was that it seemed far more interested in the ahistoric hybrid dinos like Indominus Rex, rather than understanding one truth under the hood of the original trilogy: These things actually existed at one point, and that’s bananas. It’s an essential component of why Michael Crichton’s original vision worked so well. Are there wild dino mutants here? Yes, but they take a backseat to the mission of faithfully recreating true-to-life creatures, pursued by Edwards and company. When Jonathan Bailey touches the leg of a Titanosaurus, he sells wonder and delight in way we haven’t seen since Alan Grant shakily removed his sunglasses in that Jeep. And its partly because Bailey’s touching the limb of something that once walked the Earth.
As alluded two paragraphs ago, it does take a sec to really get going. ScarJo and gang have to establish the mission (collecting genetic material from three of the most massive creatures on InGen’s old R&D island) and their own admittedly depressing backstories before everything gets all tense and growly. But once we inhabit the (truly) gorgeous Mosasaurus set piece, the movie takes off. There are references to other Jurassic films and other Hollywood epics throughout, but the big sequences are wholly its own: the water scene above, the other water scene with a T-Rex, mountaineering with a Quetzalcoatlus, watching a pair of sauropods’ public display of affection, and a handful of others. Cinematographer and Ridley Scott-collaborator John Mathieson shot it all on 35mm film, calling back to the look and lived-in vibe of the series' first entries. And thanks again to ILM: For this lifelong armchair paleontologist, creatures of the Mesozoic Era have never looked so good and so believable.
Is there some cheese here and there? Are the science and story points a bit too convenient or even silly in spots? Sure, to both. And was I bit miffed when smart people in the movie referred to both flying and water-exclusive creatures casually as “dinosaurs,” when they are in fact not technically so, even if they lived during the same time? Yeah; I’ll cop to that. But the movie quickly transports your mind to more pressing matters, like big ol’ theropods and a tiny, adorable Aquilops named Delores.
So here’s my suggestion: If you felt your enthusiasm for this world nearly go extinct with the most recent films, give this one a shot. And do it in theaters, as these are the only screens big enough for a Titanosaurus.
